Apparatus and methods for providing an improved cooking grate for an outdoor cooking grill

ABSTRACT

Provided is a cooking grate for improving cooking performance on an outdoor cooking grill. The cooking grate has a metallic plate, configured to be placed over a heat source in the outdoor cooking grill, where the metallic plate has a plurality of perforation holes. The cooking grate further includes a plurality of cooking surface ribs, configured to support food during cooking and positioned above the metallic plate. Also provided are methods of providing an improved cooking grate for an outdoor cooking grill including the steps of: perforating a metallic plate, configured to be positioned above a heat source on the outdoor cooking grill; forming a plurality of cooking surface ribs, configured to receive food to be cooked thereon.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/889,107, filed Sep. 23, 2010, which is a divisional of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/291,611, filed Dec. 1, 2005, both of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety into the presentapplication.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is generally related to outdoor cooking grillsand, more particularly, is related to an apparatus and method forproviding an improved cooking grate for an outdoor cooking grill.

BACKGROUND

Outdoor cooking grills are popular for many reasons including enhancedfood flavor and enjoyment of the outdoor cooking process. Gas-firedcooking grills are popular for home use and differ from traditionalbarbecue grills in that they rely upon a gas flame for heat energy, asopposed to the combustion of charcoal briquettes or the like.Conventional burner gas grills frequently utilize tubular burners havingmultiple combustion ports or orifices. The grills often employ an inertmaterial, such as so-called “lava rocks” or ceramic tiles, to absorbdrippings from food cooking on a grate positioned above the material andto radiate heat for providing a more even heat distribution. Infraredburner gas grills provide a generally planar heat source where thecombustion occurs at or near the surface of a ceramic or fiber element.The planar configuration of infrared burners reduces or eliminates theneed for the inert material with respect to heat distribution.

A disadvantage with such grills is that food drippings, such asliquefied greases and oils, that come into contact with gas flames orother heat sources during cooking cause flash flames or “flare-ups,”which can result in the charring of the food product being grilled.Although vaporization of the food drippings is desirable because thevapors enhance the flavor of food cooked on a grill, the flare-upsfrequently associated with the food drippings can be detrimental to theresulting quality of grilled food. One attempted solution to the problemof flare-ups includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,780 to Campbell, whichdiscloses a grate for a cooking grill that utilizes the spacing betweenthe rails to prevent flames from passing through the spaces. Anotherdevice, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,260, utilizes one or more tilespositioned between the heat source and the cooking surface. The tilesinclude channels for allowing food drippings to flow through to the heatsource. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,666 utilizes a ceramic infraredradiant energy emitter that is positioned above the heat source. Theemitter re-radiates thermal energy that is absorbed from the burnerbelow. Other devices, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,812,utilize fluid channels to direct the food drippings away from thehottest section of the cooking grill. Still other devices, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,870 utilize various forms of drip pansplaced between the item being cooked and the heat source. In some cases,the above described devices require additional grill structural featuresfor proper implementation. For example, the tiles of the '260 patent andthe emitter of the '666 patent require a support structure between theheat source and the cooking grate. Similarly, other of the devicesreduce the flavor of the cooked food by completely eliminating orreducing the favorable impact of the food drippings. Thus, a heretoforeunaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioneddeficiencies and inadequacies.

SUMMARY

Briefly described, one embodiment, among others, can be implemented as acooking grate for improving cooking performance on an outdoor cookinggrill, comprising: a metallic plate configured to be placed over a heatsource in the outdoor cooking grill, the metallic plate having aplurality of perforation holes; and a plurality of cooking surface ribsconfigured to support food during cooking and positioned above themetallic plate.

Embodiments of the present disclosure can also be viewed as providingmethods of providing an improved cooking grate for an outdoor cookinggrill comprising: perforating a metallic plate, configured to bepositioned above a heat source on the outdoor cooking grill; forming aplurality of cooking surface ribs, configured to be received by theplurality of cooking rib supports and positioned above the metallicplate; and assembling a cooking grate by attaching the plurality ofcooking rib supports to the metallic plate utilizing the plurality ofcooking rib supports.

Embodiments of the present disclosure can also be viewed as providing anapparatus for improving cooking performance on an outdoor cooking grill,comprising: a grate bar assembly, configured to support food on theoutdoor grill; a grate housing, configured to receive the grate barassembly; a first end cap, attached to the grate housing; and a secondend cap, attached to the grate housing.

Embodiments of the present disclosure can also be viewed as providing acooking grill, comprising: a housing having a cavity; a heat sourcemounted within the cavity of the housing; and a cooking surface,supported in the housing at a position above the heat source. Thecooking surface comprises a perforated plate and a plurality of cookingsurface ribs positioned above the perforated plate.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponexamination of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description, be within the scope ofthe present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with referenceto the following drawings. The components in the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating an outdoor cooking grill as utilizedin an embodiment of the disclosure herein.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a cookinggrate as disclosed herein.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an embodiment of acooking grate as disclosed herein.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an alternativeembodiment of a cooking grate as disclosed herein.

FIG. 5 is a partial top view illustrating an embodiment of a cookinggrate having exposed and covered sections.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view illustrating an embodiment ofcooking surface ribs as disclosed herein.

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a ribmount as disclosed herein.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an alternativeembodiment of a cooking grate as disclosed herein.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a gratehousing as disclosed herein.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a grate barassembly as disclosed herein.

FIG. 11 is a partial top cut-away view of an embodiment of a cookinggrate as disclosed herein.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an alternativeembodiment of a cooking grate as disclosed herein.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of an exemplarymethod as disclosed herein.

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view illustrating another alternativeembodiment of a cooking grate as disclosed herein.

FIG. 15 is a partial exploded perspective view illustrating anotheralternative embodiment of a cooking grate as disclosed herein.

FIGS. 16A and 16B are side views of alternative embodiments of a cookinggrate as disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Having summarized various aspects of the present disclosure, referencewill now be made in detail to the description of the disclosure asillustrated in the drawings. While the disclosure will be described inconnection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit it to theembodiment or embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intentis to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents includedwithin the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appendedclaims.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which is a side view illustrating anoutdoor cooking grill as utilized in an embodiment as disclosed herein.The outdoor cooking grill 100 includes a grill housing 102 having acavity 103. Located inside the cavity 103 is a heat source 104, which isattached to a fuel supply line 106. The heat source 104 of thisembodiment is a gas fired burner fueled by natural gas or propane gas.The heat source 104 can be constructed as a hollow heat resistantstructure having multiple combustion ports. Alternatively, the heatsource 104 can be an infrared burner utilizing a ceramic and/or fibermaterial configured in a generally planar geometry, where combustionoccurs on or near the planar surface.

The cooking grill 100 includes a cooking grate 108 positioned above theheat source 104 and supported within the cavity 103 by cooking gratesupports 110. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thecooking grate supports 110 can be configured as separately attachedmembers or integrally formed into the grill housing 102. Further, thegrill supports 110 can be configured as multiple distinct points ofsupport around the periphery of the grill housing 102 or as a supportingsurface, such as a lip or ledge, integrally formed in the grill housing102.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which is a perspective viewillustrating an embodiment of a cooking grate as disclosed herein. Thecooking grate 108 includes a metallic plate 124 having perforation holes125. The cooking grate 108 also includes cooking surface ribs 122 forsupporting food during cooking. The cooking surface ribs 122 aresupported by rib mounts 120. The rib mounts 120 are attached to themetallic plate 124 and provide support for the cooking surface ribs 122relative to the metallic plate 124.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which shows an exploded view of thecooking grate of FIG. 2 and better illustrates relational configurationbetween the rib mounts 120, the cooking surface ribs 122, and themetallic plate 124. The cooking grate 108 can also be configured toinclude end walls 126 and side walls 128. The end and side walls 126,128 can be formed from the same material as the metallic plate 124 or,in the alternative, can be constructed separately and attached to themetallic plate 124 using any number of mechanical fastening techniquesincluding, but not limited to, bonding, welding, or fastening withmechanical fasteners such as rivets, screws, bolts, clips, and clampsamong others. The rib mounts 120 are formed of a heat resistant materialand can optionally be attached to the metallic plate 124 or can beconfigured to maintain their position based on the interference fit ofthe cooking surface ribs 122. Each of the cooking surface ribs 122 isconstructed of an elongated heat resistant sheet or plate material thatis formed to have a generally U-shaped profile. One of ordinary skill inthe art knows or will know that the cooking surface ribs 122 can beconstructed of different materials using different techniques within thescope and spirit of this disclosure. For example, the cooking surfaceribs 122 can be elongated sheet formed into a profile other thanU-shaped or can be constructed out of a solid elongated heat resistantmaterial including, but not limited to, metallic or ceramic bar, rod, orwire.

The metallic plate 124 also includes multiple perforation holes 125.During cooking, the perforation holes 125 are configured to allow aportion of the liquid drippings from the food to drop to the heatsource. As the drippings are vaporized by the heat source, the flavor ofthe food is enhanced by the resulting vapors. Additionally, theremaining portion of the drippings are vaporized by the elevatedtemperature of the metallic plate 124. Further, the configuration of theperforations reduces the flow of air from the cavity 103 and thus to thespaces between the ribs 122, which reduces or eliminates requisitecombustion air for grill flare-ups. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3,the perforated metallic plate contains over 1800 perforation holes.

Alternative embodiments of the cooking grate can be configured withoutthe rib mounts 120. For example, the cooking surface ribs 122 can bedirectly attached to the metallic plate 124 through any of themechanical fastening techniques discussed above. Alternatively, thecooking surface ribs 122 may be supported by a structural component inthe grill housing (not shown). An exemplary structural component forsupporting the cooking surface ribs 122 can include a ledge or lipfeature attached to or integrated into the grill housing, among others.Similarly, although the cooking surface ribs are illustrated assubstantially parallel, other cooking surface rib arrangements areconsistent within the scope and spirit of this disclosure.

Brief reference is now made to FIG. 4, which is an exploded viewillustrating an alternative embodiment of a cooking grate as disclosedherein. The cooking grate 108 includes a metallic plate 124, the ribmounts 120, and the plate side walls 126 as formed from a single sheet.The perforation holes 125 are configured in rows such that the rowscoincide with areas of the metallic plate not covered by the cookingsurface ribs 122. In this particular embodiment a single row has over150 perforation holes, as shown in FIG. 4. In some embodiments,integrally formed rib mounts 120 serve a similar structural function asthe plate end walls. Although the figures generally depict two ribmounts 120, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that asingle centrally located rib mount may be utilized within the scope andspirit of this disclosure. Also contemplated within the scope and spiritof this disclosure is a configuration that justifies more than two ribmounts 120.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5, which is a partial top viewillustrating an embodiment of a cooking grate having exposed and coveredsections. The partial view of the cooking grate includes the metallicplate 124 and the rib mounts 120. The perforation holes 125 are arrangedin rows between similarly placed sections of non-perforated plate.Additionally, the rib mount 120 includes multiple notches 134 to receivethe cooking surface ribs, such that when the cooking surface ribs 122are in place, there are covered sections 130 and exposed sections 132.Although in some embodiments the perforation holes 125 are generallylocated in the exposed sections, one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the perforation holes 125 could also be arranged in thecovered sections 130 within the scope and spirit of this disclosure.

Brief reference is now made to FIG. 6, which is a partial perspectiveview illustrating an embodiment of cooking surface ribs as disclosedherein. The cooking surface ribs 122 can be formed of an elongated heatresistant material including, but not limited to, metal or ceramic.Although the cooking surface ribs 122 are illustrated as being generallyU-shaped, one of ordinary skill in the art knows or will know that othergeometries are contemplated within the scope and spirit of thisdisclosure. For example, other possible geometries include, but are notlimited to, V-shaped, C-shaped, W-shaped, O-shaped, D-shaped,triangular, and rectangular among others. The rib mounts 120, asillustrated in the partial view of FIG. 7, are configured with notches134 to receive and support the cooking surface ribs 122. The rib mounts120 can be formed by stamping and breaking or bending a sheet or plateof heat resistant material such as metal.

Reference is now made to FIG. 8, which is an exploded perspective viewillustrating an alternative embodiment of a cooking grate as disclosedherein. The cooking grate includes a grate bar assembly 140, a gratehousing 142 configured to receive the grate bar assembly, and end caps144, which are attached to the grate housing over the grate bar assembly140. As illustrated in FIG. 9, which is an exploded perspective view ofthe grate housing of FIG. 8, the grate housing 142 includes first andsecond housing components 146, 148. The housing components 146, 148 eachinclude a substantially planar surface 150, 151 having multipleperforation holes 160, 161. As illustrated in FIG. 9, each surface 150,151 contains over 900 perforation holes, 160, 161, respectively. Endwalls 152, 153 are formed along one edge of each of the substantiallyplanar surfaces 150, 151 and mating surfaces 154, 155 are formed alonganother edge of the substantially planar surfaces 150, 151. The firstand second housing components 146, 148 are constructed such that thegrate housing 142 is formed by bonding the mating surface 154 of thefirst housing component 146 to the mating surface 155 of the secondhousing component 148.

Reference is now made to FIG. 10, which is an exploded perspective viewof an embodiment of a grate bar assembly. The grate bar assembly 140includes multiple grate bars 158 arranged in a parallel configurationand attached to support brackets 156. The support brackets 156 areconstructed of elongated heat resistant material and may be formed in avariety of profiles to increase structural rigidity including U-shaped,S-shaped, rectangular, triangular, and circular among others. Thesupport brackets 156 are arranged substantially perpendicular to themultiple grate bars 158. The grate bars 158 of this embodiment featurerelief sections 159 for receiving the support brackets 156. One ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that alternative embodimentscan utilize a single support bracket 156 located in a substantiallycentral position or more than two support brackets 156 within the scopeand spirit of this disclosure.

Reference is now made to FIG. 11, which is a partial top cut-away viewof an embodiment of a cooking grate. The cooking grate includes a gratehousing consisting of a first housing component 146 attached to a secondhousing component 148 at their respective mating surfaces 154, 155. Themating surfaces can be attached using a variety of techniques including,but not limited to, mechanical fasteners, welding, and bonding amongothers. The mechanical fasteners can include, but are not limited to,screws, rivets, bolts, retaining clips, and resilient elements amongothers. The top section of the cut-away view illustrates grate bars 158attached to the grate housing 142 and an end cap 144 installed over thegrate bars 158. Note that although the grate bars 158 are illustrated ascovering non-perforated sections of the grate housing 142 and the joinedmating surfaces 154, 155 of the first and second housing components 146,148, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that this featureis not intended to limit the scope or spirit of this disclosure.

Reference is now made to FIG. 12, which is an exploded perspective viewillustrating an alternative embodiment of a cooking grate as disclosedherein. The cooking grate includes two grate bar assemblies 182, 184, agrate housing 180 configured to receive the grate bar assemblies 182,184, and end caps 186. Similar to an embodiment as illustrated in FIG.8, the grate housing 180 can include multiple housing components, eachhaving a substantially planar surface and multiple perforation holes.One benefit of utilizing multiple housing components is increasedstructural integrity that can prove to be beneficial in a thermallydiverse environment. The housing components can further include cleanoutholes 188 located near the edges for scraping debris on the gratehousing into the grill housing below. The grate bar assemblies 182, 184can generally be constructed consistent with the grate bar assemblydescribed above regarding FIG. 10. In use and operation, the grate barassemblies 182, 184 can be lifted off of the grate housing 180 for easeof cleaning.

Reference is now made to FIG. 13, which is a block diagram illustratingan embodiment of a method as disclosed herein. The method includesperforating a metallic plate in block 170. The metallic plate provides astructure that collects a portion of food drippings during the cookingprocess such that the elevated temperatures of the metallic platevaporize the food drippings thereby enhancing the flavor of the food.The perforations in the metallic plate permit a portion of the fooddrippings to transfer to the heat source below for further vaporization.The perforations do not, however, allow the requisite air for unwantedcombustion to flow from the grill cavity to the areas between the ribs.The absence of additional combustion air reduces or prevents theoccurrence of excessive flare-ups fueled from the drippings by reducingthe requisite oxygen for the flare-up combustion process.

In optional block 172, cooking rib supports are fabricated to providesupport and alignment of the cooking surface ribs, which are formed inblock 174. The cooking rib supports are generally elongated andconfigured to receive the generally elongated cooking surface ribs in asubstantially perpendicular arrangement. The cooking grate is assembledin block 176 by attaching the cooking rib supports to the metallic plateat, for example, opposite edges and then attaching the cooking surfaceribs to the cooking rib supports such that the cooking surface ribs arearranged to create a substantially planar cooking surface above themetallic plate. Alternatively, in the absence of cooking rib supports,the cooking surface ribs can be supported by a structural feature, suchas a ledge or a lip, either attached to or integrated into the grillhousing (not shown). In some embodiments, the cooking surface ribs canalso be directly attached or mounted to the perforated plate.

Reference is made to FIG. 14, which is an exploded perspective view ofanother alternative embodiment of a cooking grate. The cooking grateincludes a grate housing 202 that includes side walls 206 formed atopposing edges of the of the grate housing 202 and inverted, generallyU-shaped channels 208 formed at other opposing edges of the gratehousing 202. The U-shaped channels 208 are configured to receive ribmounts 210, which are configured to receive cooking ribs 204.Additionally, the U-shaped channels, in combination with the side walls206, provide increased structural integrity. While the cooking grate 200is illustrated as a single unit, it is contemplated within the scope andspirit of this disclosure that more than one cooking grate 200 of thisconfiguration can be utilized in combination to create a larger cookingsurface. Further, multiple cooking grates can be permanently orremoveably secured to one another in some embodiments.

Reference is now made to FIG. 15, which is a partial explodedperspective view illustrating another alternative embodiment of acooking grate as disclosed herein. The cooking grate includes aplurality of cooking ribs 224 configured to be supported by a gratehousing 220. Some embodiments provide that the cooking ribs 224 can beremovably or non-removably attached or secured to the grate housing 220.The cooking ribs can be further connected in groups such that multiplecooking ribs can be installed and removed at the same time. The gratehousing 220 can be formed of a single piece of planar heat resistantmaterial including but not limited to metallic plate, among others. Thegrate housing 220 can include one or more side walls 222 configured toreceive the outermost cooking rib and to provide additional structuralintegrity to the grate housing 220. Further, the grate housing 220 caninclude channels 226 formed into the top surface and configured toreceive the cooking ribs 224 or the housing can be substantially flat.The grate housing also includes perforated sections 228 that arearranged on the raised area between the channels 226, when designed inthis configuration. The perforated sections include perforation holesconfigured to permit drippings from food to pass through the cookinggrate in limited quantities. The channels 226 alternate with perforatedsections 228 that are arranged between the cooking ribs 224 wheninstalled into the grate housing 220. The unitary nature of cookinggrates in these embodiments provides a design capable of beingmanufactured in a cost effective manner.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 16A and 16B, which are side views ofalternative embodiments of a cooking grate as disclosed herein. Thecooking grate of FIG. 16A includes multiple cooking ribs 224 configuredto provide a cooking surface. The cooking grate also includes a gratehousing 220 configured with channels 226 for receiving and supportingthe cooking ribs 224. Between and defining the channels 226, areperforated sections 228 having perforation holes. Additionally, thegrate housing 220 includes side walls 222 configured to providestructural integrity and to receive the outermost cooking rib.

FIG. 16B provides a cooking grate 230 having a unitary design. Theforming process can include pressing, folding, and bending among others.The cooking grate 230 is formed to create cooking ribs 234 separated byperforated sections 232. The cooking grate 230 can be formed of a planarheat resistant material including but not limited to metallic sheet.Metallic sheet can include titanium, aluminum, mild steel, stainlesssteel, and tempered steel among others. The cooking grate is formed as aunitary structure that is cost effective to manufacture.

Although the above descriptions and drawings illustrate a generallyrectangular geometry, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat the scope and spirit of this disclosure is not limited to aspecific geometry. For example, the apparatus and methods herein aredirectly applicable to grates and grills having circular, elliptical, ora variety of polygonal geometries. Additionally, where metal material isrecited above, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that themetal can be any one or a combination of a variety of steels includingmild, carbon, or stainless or any other heat resistant metal orcombination or alloy thereof.

In the use and operation of an embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and2, a user places the cooking grate 108 on the cooking grate supports 110located in the cavity 103 of an outdoor cooking grill 100. The heatsource 104 is supplied with fuel from the fuel supply line 106 andignited from an ignition source (not shown). Food is placed on top ofthe cooking grate 108 and is cooked as a result of the heat generated bythe heat source 104 and by the radiant heat from the perforated plate.As the food cooks, food drippings, including, for example, liquefiedfat, drip down onto the cooking grate 108. A portion of the fooddrippings may flow through the perforation holes 125 of the cookinggrate and contact the heat source 104. The elevated temperature of theheat source can vaporize the food drippings thereby providing flavorenhancing vapor to the food. However, since the perforations limit theflow of air up through the perforated plate to the area between theribs, the presence of additional air necessary for combustion of thefood drippings is reduced or eliminated thereby reducing or eliminatingflare-ups. Additionally, any portion of the food drippings that does notflow through the perforation holes 125 is vaporized by the elevatedtemperature of the cooking grate.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent disclosure, particularly, any illustrated embodiments, aremerely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for aclear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variationsand modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) ofthe disclosure without departing substantially from the spirit andprinciples of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations areintended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure andthe present disclosure and protected by the following claims.

At least the following is claimed:
 1. A cooking grill, comprising: ahousing having a cavity; a heat source mounted within the cavity of thehousing; and a cooking surface, supported in the housing at a positionabove the heat source, the cooking surface comprising a perforatedplate, and a plurality of cooking surface ribs positioned above theperforated plate, said perforated plate and ribs formed from a singlesheet of material such that said plate and said ribs form a unitarystructure, and in which said perforations are located between said ribsfor restricting air flow between said heat source and said ribs, therebysuppressing flames from reaching the food being cooked
 2. The cookinggrill of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cooking surface ribs arearranged in a substantially parallel configuration.
 3. The cooking grillof claim 1, further comprising at least one cooking surface rib supportstructure on the grill housing.
 4. The cooking grill of claim 1including a plurality of cooking surface rib support structures withinsaid housing for supporting said cooking surface above the heat source.5. A cooking grate for improving cooking performance on an outdoorgrill. comprising a metallic plate, configured to be placed over a heatsource in the outdoor cooking grill, the metallic plate comprising: aplurality of cooking ribs, configured to support food, formed into themetallic plate; and a plurality of perforated sections arranged, in analternating arrangement, between the plurality of cooking ribs.
 6. Acooking grate as defined in claim 5 in which said cooking ribs have anupper surface for supporting food and generally vertical side wallsextending downwardly from said upper surface and connected to saidplurality of perforated sections.
 7. A cooking grate as defined in claim6 in which an open space is created between said cooking ribs, saidspace being defined by said side walls on each side, said perforatedsections at the bottom, and by the food being cooked at the top, therebycreating a box-like space in which air flow is substantially restrictedand flames are suppressed.